


Ride With Me

by estelraca



Category: Kamen Rider Decade
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Smile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 23:04:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21005633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: It's not easy leaving your world behind, but sometimes Yuusuke knows it's been entirely worth it.





	Ride With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snakelesbians](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snakelesbians/gifts).

> I hope you enjoy this! I absolutely love pretty much every permutation of the Decade cast, but Yuusuke and Tsukasa are one of my favorites to write because they're so very different. Thank you for giving me a chance to write this!

_Ride With Me_

_1—Far from Home_

Yuusuke misses Yashiro.

He misses _home_.

He hadn't expected he would. He walked away from his homeworld willingly enough, after all. Not because there was _nothing_ there for him, but because there was both _too much_ and _not enough_, people who kind-of-sort-of knew him but no longer anyone who _understood_ him.

Besides, he is _needed_ here. He's done _good_ here. Without him what kind of troubles would Tsukasa have gotten himself into?

So it's silly, really. It's maudlin and self-indulgent. He doesn't need anyone to tell him that, though he can hear Yashiro's voice saying it as she wiped at the tears in his eyes. _Get up_, she would say. _We have a world to protect_, she would smile as she lead the charge into danger.

(_Don't be so reckless_, she would say, because she didn't want him to be hurt. Because there hadn't been enough _time_. There would never be enough time.)

"Yuusuke, you—" Tsukasa's words break the silence of the room.

Yuusuke hastily spins away from the window, his right hand rising to swipe at his eyes even as he knows it's going to be impossible to hide the tears. "Sorry. How can I—"

Tsukasa isn't waiting for an answer. He's covering the distance to Yuusuke's side, putting one arm so that he's braced against the wall, crowding into Yuusuke's personal space.

Yuusuke doesn't back down, drawing himself up to his full height and staring defiantly into Tsukasa's eyes.

Tsukasa's left hand—the one he isn't leaning on—snakes out and gently wipes the moisture away from Yuusuke's eyes. Then his whole face is closer, his mouth opening, and Yuusuke opens his own mouth to counter whatever Tsukasa intends to say.

Except Tsukasa doesn't say anything.

Instead he kisses Yuusuke. Tsukasa's lips are firm, smooth, his whole face utterly calm and serene. The hand he had been bracing on the window dips down, digging into Yuusuke's hair and holding on with firm possessiveness.

For a moment Yuusuke is just stunned, too confused to act. Then he takes Tsukasa's jacket collar in both hands, holding tight as he returns the kiss with a hunger born of equal parts loneliness and liking.

They stay like that for two minutes, three. Then Tsukasa pulls back, his fingers moving to his lips. He smiles idly. "You're warm. Warmer than I expected. I like it."

Yuusuke can't help a little breathless laugh. "I liked it, too. Though next time you could _ask_."

Tsukasa gives a little shrug, and his fingers reach out to touch Yuusuke's face again. To touch his lips, trace his mouth, and Yuusuke realizes he's smiling—that they're _both_ smiling.

Tsukasa leans in to kiss him again, a quick, gentle touch of lip on lip. "If that's what it takes to get this. Natsumi wanted me to tell you something... oh, right. Dinner's ready."

And without another word Tsukasa turns, revealing the rest of the room—revealing Natsumi standing, clearly confused, in the doorway.

Tsukasa waves to Natsumi as he heads down to the kitchen.

Natsumi crosses her arms, studying Yuusuke. At least she seems more confused than angry. "When were the two of you planning on telling me you were dating?"

"We weren't. Dating, I mean. Not telling you." Yuusuke gives his head a shake. "I wasn't aware we were dating. I'm still not sure we are. But I'll let you know later if that's what's going on."

Giving her head a shake and rolling her eyes, Natsumi smiles and holds out a hand to him. "Come on. Before Tsukasa dumps all the carrots into your bowl."

Yuusuke follows her down to the kitchen, a small smile breaking out again when he sees Tsukasa trying to act innocent at the table.

He misses where he came from, but he wouldn't trade where he is for the world.

_2—Upon the Wind_

Yuusuke stares up at the sky, a blanket draped around his shoulders. He doesn't know enough about constellations to say if this sky looks different than the one he knew growing up. He wishes, briefly, that he did.

He wishes a lot of things, but he can only control some of things, and he's learned enough to try to content himself with them.

"Yuusuke?" Tsukasa's voice is quiet in the darkness.

"Come here." Yuusuke lifts the blanket, offering Tsukasa a space at his side.

Tsukasa slides into the proffered space, though Yuusuke has to slide back a bit so that Tsukasa's ridiculous long legs aren't crowded against the wall. It means he can see less of the stars, but it also means he can lean against Tsukasa, so he'll take the trade-off.

"Can't sleep?" Tsukasa's fingers are immediately on Yuusuke, exploring his hair, his shoulder, his ear.

"Lots to think about." Lots to dream about, and he grimaces as he tries not to remember the nightmare that had resulted in his being awake at this hour in the first place. He had nightmares from the Grongi, too, but it seems each new world has its own horrors to add to the pile. At least there are usually wonders enough to balance it out.

"I would never..." Tsukasa hesitates, just the barest few moments of uncertainty. From Tsukasa, they speak volumes. "I would never really betray you. You know that, right?"

Yuusuke thinks back to the world they have just left—to the dark Riders who had been so eager to have Tsukasa in their fold, to the half-feral version of Natsumi whose trust Yuusuke and the others eventually earned. "You walk pretty close to the line, sometimes."

It's not quite a rebuke. He tries to keep the words gentle, but they can't help but have a bit of a bite to them.

"I would _never_ betray you." Tsukasa is so close their breath is a warm mingling, their lips scarce millimeters apart. "I'll _protect_ you, Yuusuke."

Yuusuke grimaces, shaking his head. "I don't need protection. I like us being _partners_. I like us being _Riders_ together."

Tsukasa studies him, and then gives a slow nod. "All right."

"All right." Yuusuke nuzzles into Tsukasa's side again, squirming until Tsukasa has his arm around Yuusuke in a way that's comfortable.

Tsukasa's lips brush against Yuusuke's head, a kiss that he can feel but not see.

Yuusuke smiles, closing his eyes and inhaling Tsukasa's beautiful, unique scent.

Some wonders he gets to bring with him on this trip through the worlds, and that makes all the nightmares in the world worth it.

_3—Like a Flame_

Yuusuke wakes the house screaming, but it doesn't bring him out of the nightmare.

Tsukasa kissing him does that, but it's not the romantic event that Tsukasa probably intended. Yuusuke feels something against his lips, and for the first time since the nightmare started he can _move_. He can strike out at the creatures trying to bind him, trying to _change_ him, _invading_ him, angering Kuuga and making _him_ useless. He can _fight_, and he does.

His fist smashes into Tsukasa's face. If Tsukasa were in armor, it likely wouldn't have even scratched Decade's surface.

Tsukasa isn't in armor, and Yuusuke is _always_ Kuuga.

Natsumi yelps, a startled, confused sound, and throws herself onto Yuusuke. The scent of Tsukasa's blood—unmistakable, as unmistakable as Yashiro's, one of the scents that Yuusuke knows he will never forget—fills the room.

Yuusuke goes very, very still, staring at Tsukasa as Tsukasa picks himself up off the floor. Tsukasa tries to shake his head, and blood flies left and right from his nose.

Natsumi makes another soft, grieving sound. "Yuusuke, are you all right? Can you stay here while I go get some towels and ice?"

"Y-yeah." Yuusuke curls in on himself, biting his bottom lip so hard he tastes blood. He knows the wound will heal as soon as he moves his teeth, so he bites down harder again for a moment.

Natsumi is already moving, heading out of the room. Tsukasa is sitting, blinking at Yuusuke, a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry." Yuusuke reaches out hesitantly towards Tsukasa, expecting him to pull away. "In the dream, I was in Fourteen's lab again. I didn't know. I would never hurt you, Tsukasa." He knows that is blatantly untrue, and he swallows the bitter knowledge once again. "I would never _willingly_ hurt you. I swear."

Tsukasa doesn't flinch away from him. He comes closer, moving with grace even on his knees crawling across futons. He grabs Yuusuke, studying him intensely, and then leans forward to kiss him.

The kiss tastes like blood, both his and Tsukasa's, but Yuusuke can still feel himself sink into the contact, relishing the warmth and solidity and _reality_ of the kiss.

"Was all that my blood?" Tsukasa pulls back, and his lips are red.

Yuusuke considers lying, and then decides it's a bad habit to bring into a relationship. "No."

A nod is Tsukasa's answer. He sits for a few seconds, and then takes Yuusuke's hand in his. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I told you the world _had_ to be broken for the people to be good. And I'm more sorry that I was right. And I'm sorry I couldn't save you, then or now. But I'm not sorry about _this_." He gestures towards his face. "If I have to bleed a little bit to save you from pain—to protect your smile—then that's what I'm happy to do. So _you_ have to protect your smile, too."

Yuusuke squeezes Tsukasa's fingers, his eyes closing against a prickle of tears he doesn't dare allow out. "It's just... it's so _frustrating._ I feel like if someone's going to get brainwashed, if someone's going to be used against the rest of you or taken out, it's always _me_. I want to _protect_ you all."

"And you are. That's _why_ it's always you. It's always you protecting us." Tsukasa smiles, and even through the blood Yuusuke can tell it's one of Tsukasa's smirks. "Or us taking advantage, knowing you _would_ protect us. That if _someone_ had to be the Imajin's host, you would be the only one of the three of us to volunteer."

"_Volunteer_ is different from being _volunteered_." Natsumi comes into the room with a towel and ice pack. "Here, make that stop bleeding. And be nice to Yuusuke."

Tsukasa gives her an aggrieved look. "I'm _always_ nice."

Natsumi just glares at him, and after a moment Tsukasa shrugs languidly. He wipes the worst of the blood away and puts the ice pack to his nose.

Yuusuke looks at the scattered drops of blood on the floor. "Let me help you clean this up."

"Please." Tsukasa's voice is muffled by the cloth. "I'm busy, so someone else has to do the clean-up."

It's such a _Tsukasa_ moment that despite the continued tangle of confusing, conflicted emotions in his chest Yuusuke smiles—a smile that turns to a laugh when Natsumi takes one of the pillows and uses it to gently smack Tsukasa on the back.

They're both Riders. They're both dangerous people, with rough edges. They're always going to be going into dangerous situations.

But they have each other.

So long as they have that, they can clean up the blood and smile and keep going.

_4—Over Firm Soil_

Tsukasa is the one who kisses him first, but Yuusuke is the one who escalates matters.

They've survived another adventure. They've met new friends—Yuusuke is quite fond of the Shinkengers. They've moved on to somewhere else, with new dangers and new magic.

They're _together_, and he wants to enjoy it now, for however long it lasts.

Tsukasa doesn't need much encouragement. There's a moment of blinking, and then a slow unfurling of one of his possessive, eager smiles.

Yuusuke allows Tsukasa to take control, shoving him down, pinning him with weight and firm kisses and the pleasure of seeing that smile.

"You have one too, you know." Yuusuke gasps out the words as he allows Tsukasa to undress him. "A good smile. One worth protecting."

"I like yours more." Tsukasa whispers the words as he moves up to nip at Yuusuke's ear.

Yuusuke can't help laughing. "That means you're not _quite_ as narcissistic as you usually end up coming across."

"Or that I just want all the beautiful things to myself."

"I don't believe that." Yuusuke hooks one leg through Tsukasa's, and they end up tousling on the floor for a few seconds, each of them vying to be on top.

Yuusuke wins out, and he perches atop Tsukasa, feeling strong and hot and _powerful_ as he looks down at the man who changed his life forever. "You don't really believe it, either."

Tsukasa looks up at him, and his smile softens, becomes something warm and open and inviting. "Show me your smile?"

Yuusuke does, the rest of the evening passing by far too quickly.

It's the type of evening that makes a hundred difficult days worthwhile, and Yuusuke clings to it in the worlds that come, reminding himself how wonderful everything can be when the universe leaves them be for just a little bit.

_5—Out of This World_

"I failed you."

The words are whispered into Yuusuke's hair, and they take him by surprise.

Yuusuke turns, rolling so that he can see Tsukasa outlined by the pale moonlight coming in the window.

Tsukasa's hand cups his face. "I didn't protect your smile. As soon as I _remembered_... as soon as I knew what I'd come from... I failed you. I'm sorry."

Yuusuke leans forward, pressing a kiss to Tsukasa's lips. "You came back. Maybe it took some time, but you came back. That's what matters."

"Natsumi says you're too nice to me. That if it was _her_ I'd decided to sleep with, I'd still be sleeping on the couch for a week, no matter how much I made up for being a jackass after the fact." Tsukasa's words are light, but Yuusuke can see the honest concern lying underneath them.

He takes a moment, burying his head against Tsukasa's chest. He can hear Tsukasa's heartbeat even when he isn't touching Tsukasa, Kuuga reading his nervousness and giving him better hearing than he would otherwise have.

"Would it make you a better person?" Yuusuke speaks the words to Tsukasa's chest.

Tsukasa hums for a moment. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"I think..." Yuusuke pauses, struggling to put into words what he knows in his heart. "When Yashiro scolded me, she had the best intentions. But when she praised me, when she said I did well, when she smiled at me or said we saved people—that's when I would have done anything for her. That's what I can do for people, I think. Not be the punishment they want to shy away from, but rather the comfort they want to come to."

"I do." Tsukasa's voice is rough, though Yuusuke doesn't see any sheen of tears in his eyes or on his cheeks. "I want to be able to come here. I want to be able to see you smile."

Yuusuke kisses Tsukasa again, even more gently than before. "And I want to see _you_ smile. Like I said before. Because your smile is just as good as mine."

Tsukasa laughs. "No, it's not. Your smile... it's _kind_, Yuusuke. It's a welcome home, and an offer of protection. Whereas mine... I can sit on a throne and smile, and I _mean_ it. I _liked_ it. I could like it again."

"Could. But not necessarily _will_." Yuusuke holds tight to Tsukasa's chin. "Because you can smile kindly, too. You did when you saved me from the Grongi, and I love seeing that. So... let's go for fifty-fifty nice versus other smiles. How does that sound as a starting goal?"

Tsukasa laughs again, and this time it's his head that is buried against Yuusuke's shoulder, his hands holding tight to Yuusuke as though Yuusuke is the one who might disappear. "Considering I might be murdered by all the other Riders in the next twenty-four hours, that's asking a lot."

"But not more than you can manage. I trust you, Tsukasa." Yuusuke holds Tsukasa close, allowing the darkness to protect them both from a future that is even more uncertain than usual.

In the end, Yuusuke burns and Tsukasa bleeds out on Natsumi's sword.

In the end, Yuusuke knows he was right to trust Tsukasa.

_+1—Into Eternity_

"I don't know if I can save him."

Tsukasa and Yuusuke stand in front of a patch of shivering silver air—the portal to the world that is threatening to drown others, to the boy who is something and nothing like Tsukasa was when he was younger.

Yuusuke slips a hand around Tsukasa's waist and presses a kiss to his cheek. "Do you want me to come?"

Tsukasa eyes him, considering the suggestion, and then sighs. "You said you have things you're working on."

"Because I do." Yuusuke shrugs. "But if you need me—"

Giving his head a shake, Tsukasa makes a face. "I should be able to handle it. He's not even as much of an asshole as I was. He cares about people more than I did. Not just those whose smile catches his attention—he seems to _want_ to be a hero, but someone's trying to twist him into something else."

Yuusuke pulls Tsukasa closer to him for a moment. "I would say the same was true of a certain evil overlord I knew."

"Not as much. Not to start with." Tsukasa smiles, and it's one of his kind ones, though there's still the certainty and possessiveness that Yuusuke has come to love over the years in the expression. "But I think I'm doing all right for myself."

"I think you are, too." Yuusuke releases Tsukasa, though it makes him feel bitterly cold to do so. "But if you need help..."

Tsukasa gives a little salute as he turns around and backs into the portal. "If I need help, I know exactly who to call for back-up."

The silver swallows him up, but not before Tsukasa blows Yuusuke a kiss, and Yuusuke is smiling as he heads back to his own heroics.

There are a lot of good smiles out there in the universe, and they'll protect as many of them as they possibly can.


End file.
